Virginia Evans - Jenny Dooley

CONTENTS

2

A Letter for you .......................................................................................... p. 3

I. Language Passport ................................................................................ p. 5

II. Language BiographyAll About Me! ..................................................................................................... p. 7

How I Learn! ....................................................................................................... p. 9

My World of English! .......................................................................................... p. 11

Now I Can! ......................................................................................................... p. 13

Future Plans! ....................................................................................................... p. 15

III. DossierMy Best Friends ................................................................................................... p. 19

Me & My Neighbours! ......................................................................................... p. 21

Environment Day ................................................................................................. p. 23

Rainforests .......................................................................................................... p. 25

City Guide .......................................................................................................... p. 27

Camp Fun! .......................................................................................................... p. 29

Good Manners .................................................................................................... p. 31

School Days ........................................................................................................ p. 33

Mythical Creatures .............................................................................................. p. 35

Party Time ........................................................................................................... p. 37

Films ................................................................................................................... p. 39

Entertainment...................................................................................................... p. 41

Dream Jobs ......................................................................................................... p. 43

Future Plans ........................................................................................................ p. 45

Safety Comes First .............................................................................................. p. 47

Witness Statement .............................................................................................. p. 49

Weather .............................................................................................................. p. 51

Disasters ............................................................................................................. p. 53

Festive Time ........................................................................................................ p. 55

Any Advice? ........................................................................................................ p. 57

IV. Extra Activities ........................................................................................ p. 59

My Selection! ...................................................................................................... p. 60

Contents ............................................................................................................. p. 61

A Letter for you

3

Dear Student,

This Language Portfolio is your property. It has been designed to help you improve yourlanguage learning. It will accompany you throughout your school life and will help youdocument your learning both inside and outside the classroom. The Language Portfolio contains material which you can use and then keep as a record ofyour learning. In this portfolio you can also include any extra material given to you by yourteacher throughout the course. However, the final decision about what to include in theLanguage Portfolio is completely up to you. In practice, Language Portfolios may include a project or other examples of written work,computer diskettes (with some work or drawings completed inside or outside theclassroom), video cassettes (with your favourite story or with performances of songs, schoolplays, etc), certificates, reports from your teachers, or even a collection of objects orpictures.Here is a short explanation of each section in your Language Portfolio:

I. Language PassportThis is an updated report of your progress in English language learning. You will include inthis section any evidence of your formal qualifications (certificates, diplomas), tests, progressreport cards, self-assessment cards, etc.

II. Language BiographyThis is an updated record of your personal language learning history which helps youevaluate your learning aims and reflect on your language learning and inter-culturalexperiences.

III. DossierThis is a collection of your work which you have chosen to illustrate your language skills,experiences and achievements in the English language. In this section of your LanguagePortfolio there is some material you can use. You can also file any work you do inside oroutside the classroom that you would like to keep as evidence of your work in English.

We hope you really enjoy doing these activities.

Virginia Evans Jenny Dooley

4

How to organise your Language Portfolio

In your Language Portfolio you can include almost anything you have produced or collected that showsyour progress in English. We suggest you keep your work in plastic envelopes so that it stays in goodcondition.

In practice, your Language Portfolio can be any shape or size according to the material you choose to store.

Your Language Portfolio can include any of the following:

video cassettes posters cards tests

drawings

school reports

poems

audio cassettes

Here you can record all your English language learning achievements. You can include certificates,diplomas, progress report cards, self-assessment forms, tests, etc. In general, you can include anythingthat is proof of your competence in English.

Every time you add something, record it on your Language Passport Chart.

I. Language Passport

5

Date Type of Material

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

................................ ......................................................

MY LANGUAGE PASSPORT CHART

LEVEL B1+

II. Language Biography

7

Name: Date of birth:

Age: Place of birth:

I am in my year of English.

My English teacher’s name:

Read and put a tick (✓) or a cross (✗).

Some members of my family speak English.

Some members of my family are from an English-speaking country.

I often read English books, magazines, etc.

I often watch English TV programmes.

I often listen to English songs.

I have extra English lessons.

There is someone at home who speaks English to me.

I have contact with people from English-speaking countries.

I have visited/lived in the following English-speaking countries:

.................................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................................

All About Me!

II. Language Biography

9

How I Learn!

Think of the easiest ways for you to learn something new. Read the sentences below and choose. You can

choose more than one.

1 I understand words/sentences better if I …

A listen to them on cassette/CD.

B listen to my teacher saying them.

C see them written down.

D see, listen and do something with them.

E other

2 I learn words/phrases better if I …

A listen to them on cassette/CD.

B listen to my classmates saying them.

C read them.

D write them down.

E repeat them.

F act them out, sing them, etc.

G come across them on a video/DVD, etc.

H other

3 I can express myself well if I …

A already know all the words I need to use.

B know some of the words I need to use.

C use mime, objects and pictures to help me.

D already have some life experience on the subject.

E other

4 I learn best if I work …

A on my own. B in pairs. C in groups/teams. D other

II. Language Biography

10

5 I am more eager to learn if …

A I know why I’m doing an activity.

B I know an activity will help me.

C I am rewarded.

D an activity will help me to find out more about the things I like.

E other

6 I understand grammar rules better if …

A they are explained to me in my mother tongue.

B I compare them with the grammar rules of my mother tongue.

C I explore a text and come up with the grammar rules myself.

D other

II. Language Biography

11

My World of English!

Make notes of the following.

The stories I know in English

.......................................................... ........................................................

.......................................................... ........................................................

.......................................................... ........................................................

The songs I can sing in English

.......................................................... ........................................................

.......................................................... ........................................................

.......................................................... ........................................................

The videos/DVDs I’ve watched in English

.......................................................... ........................................................

.......................................................... ........................................................

.......................................................... ........................................................

II. Language Biography

13

Now I Can!

Here is what you will be able to do in English at this level. Every now and then, for instance once a month,you will need to check your progress in the English language. For this reason you should use a pencil sothat you can change and/or add things as you go along. You can use the following code:

I can ...

ñ understand people talking about things I know. ....................

ñ understand people giving factual information. ....................

ñ understand everyday conversations. ....................

ñ understand programmes on TV and the radio. ....................

ñ understand films. ....................

ñ guess the meaning of unknown words. ....................

ñ understand other people when they speak clearly. ....................

ñ understand short lectures and talks. ....................

I can ...

ñ understand texts on subjects I am interested in. ....................

ñ understand personal letters expressing feelings. ....................

ñ understand brochures and short, official documents. ....................

ñ understand descriptions of events. ....................

ñ understand argumentative texts that are written clearly. ....................

ñ understand clear, straightforward instructions on a piece of equipment. ....................

ñ understand newspaper articles about things I know. ....................

ñ find and understand general information in everyday material. ....................

Very Well: ✓✓✓ OK: ✓✓ Not Very Well: ✓

II. Language Biography

14

I can ...

ñ describe things to people. ....................

ñ give simple instructions. ....................

ñ give directions. ....................

ñ give advice to people. ....................

ñ give news. ....................

ñ express my thoughts on abstract cultural topics (films, books, music). ....................

ñ describe personal experiences. ....................

ñ describe feelings. ....................

ñ talk about my dreams, hopes, wishes and ambitions. ....................

I can ...

ñ write a short narrative. ....................

ñ describe the plot of a book or a film. ....................

ñ describe my thoughts on cultural topics such as films and music. ....................

ñ write personal letters, expressing feelings and giving news. ....................

ñ take messages describing enquiries and problems. ....................

II. Language Biography

15

Future Plans!

What would you like to do in the future to improve your English? How can you learn more about otherpeople and other countries? Choose and write. You can also use your own ideas.

I WOULD LIKE TO ...

ñ read English stories, magazines, etcñ watch English films, programmes, etcñ listen to English songsñ talk to English peopleñ use the Internet

ñ write to people from other countriesñ visit other countriesñ find information about other countries and

cultures

17

III. Dossier

Title of the activity

19 MY BEST FRIENDS 1

21 ME & MY NEIGHBOURS! 1

23 ENVIRONMENT DAY 2

25 RAINFORESTS 2

27 CITY GUIDE 3

29 CAMP FUN! 3

31 GOOD MANNERS 4

33 SCHOOL DAYS 4

35 MYTHICAL CREATURES 5

37 PARTY TIME 5

39 FILMS 6

41 ENTERTAINMENT 6

43 DREAM JOBS 7

45 FUTURE PLANS 7

47 SAFETY COMES FIRST 8

49 WITNESS STATEMENT 8

51 WEATHER 9

53 DISASTERS 9

55 FESTIVE TIME 10

57 ANY ADVICE? 10

PageIt can be doneat the end of

Module ...

In your Language Portfolio, you can include anything of your choosing to keep and show as evidence ofyour progress in the English language. Here are some activities you can do that can be included in yourLanguage Portfolio, if you wish. Every time you do one of these activities, tick (✓) the relevant box.